“Weren’t we supposed to meet at the gym yesterday? What happened?”
“Sorry to have left you in the lurch. I couldn’t inform you because of the...”
“Who said anything about meeting you in a church? I asked why you didn’t show up...”
“I said ‘lurch’, not ‘church’. When you leave someone in the lurch, you desert them. You leave them in a difficult situation — you don’t offer them help.”
“Well, the good news is that I didn’t feel that you’d left me in the lurch. There were a couple of friends who were working out. So, I didn’t need you to rescue me!”
“You do realise that I’d never leave you in the lurch, right?”
“I’m not so sure about that! Tell me, where does this word ‘lurch’ come from?”
“No one is really sure. Some people believe that it was actually the name of a board game played in 16th century France.”
“Was it because you were playing some game that you forgot about our meeting?”
“Very funny! I completely forgot because things have been a little crazy at the office. Nobody is really sure...”
“Yes, everyone is talking about it. Is it true that your boss was fired yesterday?”
“It is. Both he and his sidekick, Shyam, were asked to go. They were told to...”
“Sidekick! Tell me, how....”
“A sidekick is someone who is always around an important person. He...”
“Is a friend or a close associate of the important person. The two spend a considerable amount of time together. Dr. Watson was Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick. Robin was Batman’s sidekick. In our movies, the comedian is always the hero’s sidekick.”
“If you knew the meaning, why did you ask me what the word....?”
“I wanted to know why this person who hangs around is called a sidekick? What did...”
“There are several explanations for this. According to one theory, in the past, one of the meanings of the word ‘kick’ was ‘walk’ or ‘wander’. Since this individual...”
“Was always ‘kicking’ or walking by the ‘side’ of the important person, he began to be called ‘sidekick’.”
“Exactly! So, can I refer to you as my sidekick?”
“Of course, not! We don’t spend too much time together. And nobody in his right mind would say that you’re an important person! Tell me, why was your boss fired?”
Failure
“He’s been going through a tough time ever since the stock market meltdown, and ...”
“Stock market meltdown? What are you talking about?”
“A ‘meltdown’ is a quick and complete failure of something. In this case, I’m...”
“You’re talking about the collapse of the stock market. How about this example? For the past two months, my father’s company has been experiencing a financial meltdown.”
“Sounds good! The word can be used with people as well. When a person has a meltdown, he loses control of his emotions. He freaks out. My boss had a major meltdown when he was asked to quit.”
“I might have a meltdown the next time you don’t show up.”
*****
Medically speaking, there is no such thing as a nervous breakdown, which is very annoying to discover when you’re right in the middle of one. — Marian Keyes
The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com
